Honningsvag and The North Cape
Today, we arrived in the little port of Honninngsvag, our most Northerly destination… and it was raining.
Tracey and I were on tour escort duty, to the North Cape. Three years ago, we did this same cruise on the Marco Polo, and had escorted the North Cape transfer, but never made it. The road conditions had been so bad that the coach driver had sensibly made the decision to turn back.
Of all the tours, then, this was one that we’d specifically requested, in the hope of reaching Norway’s, and Europe’s, most Northerly point (even further north than Iceland, I was surprised to discover), so we were very pleased to get the dispatch papers for ‘The North Cape’ pushed under the cabin door last night.
Conditions were pretty awful as we made our way through the queues of people waiting to get off the ship, and down the gangway onto an icy quayside. The wind was blowing, and it was raining…
There seemed to be a little confusion as to where the coaches were, and where the escorts (there were 6 of us) should be waiting. This was all sorted out eventually, however, and soon, with a full coach, we were on our way.
What started out as a wet, slightly miserable, drive slowly changed into something else entirely, and memories of the aborted previous visit soon came flooding back. The road to the North Cape is quite wild and remote, and treacherous in places. I was sat at the very front of the coach, and enjoyed the craziness of the journey. At one point, though, the back wheels of the coach slid sideways quite noticeably; the driver made corrections effortlessly and without expression, but audible gasps of several passengers behind us seemed to encourage him to slow things down a little. One lady sounded like she was having kittens, and pleaded with the driver to slow down…
We made it, of course. 45 minutes later, we stepped out onto an ice rink of a car park, battered by high winds and surrounded by eight- or ten-feet-high drifts of snow. It’s a wonder no-one slipped and injured themselves as everyone gingerly made their way towards the entrance of the visitor centre.
Having visited the Needles on the Isle of White and Lands End, both could do with taking notes on visitor experience from the North Cape. Not only was it an interesting place, but it was all very tastefully done.
The very tip of the Cape itself is nothing more than a cliff-top with a simple monument providing the perfect ‘top of the world’ photo opportunity, without resorting to stupid, cheesy gimmicks (it would have been too cold for that, anyway). Sadly, visibility was very poor, and the freezing wind and driving rain meant folks didn’t stay out there for any longer than they absolutely had to.
The visitor centre had all the usual souvenir shops and cafes. It also had a cinema in which a 20-minute wide-panorama movie based around the Cape played. I saw it twice; first, when I arrived and second when Tracey arrived in her coach and I’d finally managed to find her. I have to say that I rather enjoyed it; it featured some magnificent time-lapse photography and drone footage, not to mention a stunning musical soundtrack. The movie can be viewed in its entirety here.
As well as the cinema, there were several three-dimensional dioramas and a ‘Cave of Light’ (which I didn’t really understand).
The only negative part of the experience was the long queue of people waiting to get on the coaches when it was time to return to the ship (our duties were simply to get them there, not organise their return). One German couple raised a few heckles as they blatantly pushed their way to the front, clearly queueing is something they don’t do; One doesn’t like to stereotype, but… I thought the English passengers were going to lynch them…
All-in-all, I’m pleased we finally made it to the North Cape. It was cold and wild, and everything that I’d hoped. It’s a shame that conditions weren’t a little clearer; a stunning sunset would have been nice… maybe next time…
The rain has persisted all day, and as we left Honningsvag, it was clear that Aurora-watching was going to be off the cards this evening. Tomorrow, we’ll be in Tromso, being the last of the high-probability light-watching locations, here’s hoping for a clear day (and night)…
